Explosion-proof gasoline tank



581312.23, 1952 FASHAY 2,611,512

EXPLOSION-PROOF GASOLINE TANK Filed 001 3, 1947 HTTORNEY Patented Sept. 23, 1952 1 ,UNITED' STATE EXPLOSION-PROOF GASOLINE TANK Alexander Fashay, Long Island City, N, Y., as.-

Signor of seven andone-h Krazinski, New York, N. Y.

air per cent to Leno;

Application October '3, 1947, Serial No; 777,766

Claims. la This invention relates to. fuel containers, particularlyto an explosion-proof gasoline tank, and has. for its primary object to prevent the formation. of an explosive mixture in fuel tanks. 1 Another object of my invention is to provide a fuel container in which the fuel is segregated from air, .thereby preventing oxygen from mixing. with the fuel and setting up a potential fire hazard.

Stillv another object of the, invention is to provide a container in which atmospheric pressure i employed for. forcing fuel isolated from air into a combustion engine.

A further object of the invention is to provide anexpansible fuel container of variable volume. ..Still a further object of the invention is to provide. a resilient fuel container in which the top thereof: is uniformly separable from the bottom,

Yet'a further object of the invention is to provide; an elastic fuel conta neradapted for preventing a flame from entering therein.

- In my 'copending application S. N. 649,0l3, filed February 20, 1946, now abandoned, I have illfustratedand described a method: and means for preventing; explosive mixtures, in gasoline tank-s by forming a noneexplosive mixture in the space above; the-levjetof aliquid fuel "in a constant volume fuelctank, thereby excluding air from the tank. a

The improvements of. 'mypresent invention reside ,in a fuel; tank of variable volume inwhich, as fuel isiadded, the-tank increases in size and, as the fuel is: withdrawn, the tank, decreases in size, the. fuelinthe tank being isolated from air at all times. To provide additional safety factors, I place myexpansible fuel tanks, in a rigid enclosed container with openings protected by flame proof screens. a 5 Other objects and a fuller, understanding of my inventionmay be hadv by referring; to the following, description and claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawingin which like partsare designated by like reference charactersandin which: v a

. Eig. 1 ,is..a.top plan-view with thetop removed of my improved fuel container;

;-Fig. 2 is an elevational sectional viewtaken along line 2 2 of Fig. 1 inthe direction ofthe arrows; V 1

Eig;..3i s a fractional elevational sectional view, analogousto that of Fig. 2 showing another embodimentof my invention and V l Fig.4 is an elevational sectional view showing tillanother embodiment of .my invention.

4 Referring now to the drawing, particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, there is shown a rigid receptacle l0 comprising a bottom ll, sides 12, and top 13, secured together many well known manner. The receptacle may be of any suitable configuration and, while shown as rectangular, may just as well be-circular. Within the receptacle I0 is shown a bellows or diaphragm 14 of any suitable elasticor expansible material, preferably of reinforced rubber and metaliorv plastic material, the lower ends [.5 of which are bent over as shown and sealed to the bottom H in any satisfactory man ner. I prefer, however, to seal. the. ends H by means of a bracket i6, whichhas an offset arm adapted to lay overtlie ends Iii and which is rigidly connected to the bottom H by a. bolt 18 disposed through a clear opening (not shown) in the bracket 1'8 and threadedly engageable with the bottom II. The upper ends 19 of the bellows 14 are attached in a. similar manner by brackets 20 to a movable rigidelement or plate 21. As a. further seal, the bellows may be cemerited to theplate. 2t and bottom H with any suitable substance impervious to-gasolineand the like.

The bellows i i, an intermediate portion of the bottom H, and an intermediate portion of the plate 21 comprise a variable fuel container, f;uel

22 being adapted to enter-therein through an inletpipe 23 threadedlysecured tothe bottom I I, as shown In its simpl st .form my variable fuel container may be considered as av simple collapsible elastic bag which, as it is filled with fuel, will expand and, as the'fuel is withdrawn, the bag will clecrease in size and collapse upon removal of, the fuel, which is at all times isolatedfrom the air.

To assure tha-t.the plate 2 l will be'spaced: sub+ stantially parallel' with the bottom ;I l I provide a rack 24 that is rigidly secured to the sidesglfZ; e h n a eme w the r ck lrr i ee plurality of pinions 25, fixedly; coupled to transve e ait .2 wh c ar in rn ed in bea i 2.! ,that are fixedly disposed 'onthe rigid element 21 in any suitable manner. Intermediate the ends of the shaft 2 6 are fixedly coupled-bevel gears 28, which are shown in mesh engagement with bevel gears29, inturn rigidly coupled-toga longitudinal shaft that isjournaledin bearings 31, also carriedupon the plate: 2i. it is thus seen that, as the plate 21 rises and falls, all surfaces thereof will rise andfall together, the plate 21 thereby being substantial-1yparallel with thebottomll atall times. While-I show a rack and pinion arrangement, any-other suitable arrangement for maintaining 3 the plate 2| parallel with the bottom may be utilized, for example, a rack and pawl arrangement may be employed, the pawls being mounted upon the plate 2| and the rack similarly along the sides l2.

A plurality of opening |3' are placed in the top |3 of the receptacle for permitting air to enter therein, so that a vacuum will be avoided, as the fuel is being withdrawn. However, it is to be noted that the air cannot enter within the fuel container, in view of the sealed joints. To prevent a flame from entering within the receptacle I2, I provide a flameproof screen 32 across the upper, open end of a small housing 33 rigidly secured to the top |3 above the opening l3. Such a flameproof screen 32 may be of metallic gauge, similar to that employed in the well known Davy safety lamp.

To prevent fuel from escaping from the fuel container in the event of a puncture therein and thereby contributing to an explosion, the openings l3 may be provided with a one-way valve 34, as shown, a spring element 35 being adapted to hold the valve in a closed position. The spring 35 is so designed that atmospheric pressure will permit the valve 34 to open and allow air to enter within the receptacle as the fuel container is exhausted of fuel. It is, of course, understood that. as fuel is added to the container, the valve 34 must be manually released. To facilitate this manual operation, one of the valves 34 with its associated stem may be placed near a filling cap 36 of the inlet pipe 23. A resilient element, such as a coil spring 31, is shown interposed between the plate 2| and bottom H to compensate for the weight of the various parts, so that the fuel container may respond more truly to atmospheric pressure.

For supplying the fuel 22 to a carburetor or engine (not shown) I provide: a conduit 38, which I prefer to couple directly to the inlet pipe 23, a manually operable shut-off valve 39 being interposed therebetween.

The operation of my variable container will now be described. Assuming that the container is empty, the cap 36, which normally closes the inlet pipe 23, is removed and fuel added in the usual manner, the shut-off valve 39 being closed. The valve 34, if employed, is released during the filling operation to permit the plate 2| to rise uniformly and the bellows M to expand. Upon the container being filled, the cap 38 is replaced and valve 39 is opened, and in this condition it is readily apparent that the fuel 22 is isolated from air and, since oxygen is lacking in the container, the formation of an explosive mixture in the container is substantially prevented. As the fuel is consumed, being fed to the engine under the influence of atmospheric pressure, the plate 2| will uniformly approach the bottom H and the bellows M will retract until upon exhaustion of all fuel the bellows will collapse, after which the cycle may be repeated by refilling the container.

In Fig. 3, the arrangement of Fig. 2 has been reversed, that is, the receptacle l constitutes the variable fuel container instead of the bellows M and associated parts. In this figure it is therefore essential that all joints of the receptacle It be adequately sealed against leakage of liquid. Using like characters for like parts, the upper ends of the bellows M are sealed to the top l3 while the lower ends thereof are sealed to the plate 2|, in the manner described hereinbefore, the top l3, plate 2| and bellows l4 comprising an air container. The pinions 25 and associated parts are shown disposed on the underside of the plate 2 I. Openings I3, screens 32, housings 33, and valves 34 may be employed in the manner of the previous embodiment shown in Fig. 2. A compensating spring 31 may also be interposed between the plate 2| and the bottom The operation of the second embodiment is the reverse, as far as the bellows is concerned, to that of the first embodiment. As fuel 22 is added to the receptacle through the inlet pipe 23, the plate 2| uniformly rises and the bellows retracts, whereas, as the fuel is withdrawn the bellows expands and the plate 2! falls uniformly. Air is thus seen to be excluded from the fuel in the receptacle.

In the third embodiment, as shown in Fig. 4, I have provided a movable plate 4|], analogous to that of a piston, having a pair of metallic rings 4|, preferably of copper, in line seal engagement with the sides l2 of the receptacle I0. I prefer to use two rings 4| in order to assure that the plate will move in parallel with the bottom H and, it is also preferable to use a receptacle circular in shape. Since the rings 4| prevent air from mixing with the fuel, it is not necessary, therefore, to provide a bellows, as shown in Fig. 3, for this purpose. The operation of this embodiment is obvious, the plate 40 rising and falling as the fuel is being respectively added and withdrawn.

Thus, it will be apparent that the objects of my invention, as especially aforementioned, are achieved. Gbviously numerous changes in construction and rearrangement of the parts of the device might be resorted to without departing from the spirit of my invention, as defined by the appended claims. For example, a conduit may be connected to one of the openings l3 and brought near the filling cap 36 where a valve 34 and flameproof screen 32 is added. The manual release of the valve 34 is thus facilitated.

What I claim is:

1. An explosive-proof fuel container comprising, in combination, an elastic envelope with a rigid bottom, a rigid top, and resilient side walls for containing liquid fuel isolated from air, said bottom having an opening for a fuel inlet pipe, a fuel outlet pipe connected to said bottom, and synchronized meshing means cooperating with said top and container for maintaining said top substantially parallel with said bottom durin expansion and contraction of said envelope.

2. A fuel container according to claim 1, in which said means includes a rack and pinion arrangement coupled at opposite sides to said top and a shaft interconnecting the pinions of said arrangement.

3. A fuel container according to claim 1, in which said means includes rigid side walls'connected to said. rigid bottom, racks disposed on said rigid side walls, pinions connected to said rigid top in mesh engagement with said racks, and a shaft for interconnecting the pinions.

4. An explosive-proof fuel container comprising, in combination, a rigid receptacle having a bottom, side walls, and a top, said bottom having an opening for ingress and egress of liquid fuel, an envelope of changeable volume disposed within said receptacle, said envelope being constituted by spaced expansible side walls having lower ends thereof in sealed engagement with the bottom of said receptacle, a rigid element in sealed ensaid envelope being adapted to receive and to discharge said liquid fuel therefrom, said rigid element being movable with respect to said bottom, and synchronized meshing means for maintaining said rigid element in substantially parallel relationship with said bottom.

5. An explosive-proof fuel container comprising, in combination, a rigid receptacle having a bottom, side walls, and a top, said bottom having an opening for ingress and egress of liquid fuel, an envelope of changeable volume including a rigid element within said receptacle movable with respect to said bottom, said envelope being adapted to receive and discharge the liquid fuel therefrom, synchronized meshing means between said rigid element and side walls for maintaining the 15 movement of said rigid element substantially in parallel relationship with said bottom.

ALEXANDER FASHAY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record inthe file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

